Why I won't buy the Tascam 2488

[CoolCat]

2488 test dirvin' ~29day?? damn time flys

Best place to ask is here:
http://www.tascamforums.com/

yes,thanks.. i've been there too.

your a bit ahead of me on the 2488...i was just test drivin' for 30days.
I think my 30 is up +/- a few days.

TRACKING: A++++
To date the 2488 is awesome at Tracking. (user friendly=awesome).
It accomplished one of my Upgrade goals>>> more tracks.
TECHNICALL/SPECS: A++++ 24tracks/24 bit....$1,000BUCKS..c'mon it's sweeet.

Brief summary of negatives:
MENUS: The reverbs ok, the compressor is different but liked the RNC better, the EQ sounds ok-it works, guitar/channel/effects imp noisy& don't care for, the sliders seem kinda "short" and can really cut-off your fade out, Mastering Effects weak?? no limiting only Compress or Expand, CDR can't upload.

MY FIX: ADD A CHANNEL STRIP/Outboard- but I just record 1,2's...no 16inputs needed. that'd be $$$..damn.
Didn't get rid of my TCM300 Reverb either, but the 2488 Reverb is alright I guess...

When the TRACKING is done, and you've played with the Pans etc...and relaized you can't figure out the menus as far as applying different compressions and effects on the tracks...it's time to PREMASTER.
This is really just recording the TRACKS/MIX to HD/Temp file perse.
You press REC/ while mixing and the End result is a PREMASTER.

So then you sit back and play the PREMASTER a few times, hitting the speaker selector from A to B... asking do I like this mix??

if so, or if you have to run errands lest your wife brow beat you and ruin your day with other images....you burn a CDR quickly...MASTERING, I mean.

I was really let down on this section, I didn't expect the world...but damn a few limiter presets...or something you know??
all it had was COMPRESSION or EXPANDER.

for a home recording gearhead...i wanted to have somemore Mastering stuff.
I've read the pros leave it all for the MAstering Houses, which is probably why the 2488 didn't spend much Eng talent on this section.


BMW..hope you keep posting on the 2488.

Whats your Pro's and Con's on the unit???
Do you use the Guitar effects?
Is the compressor good?

damn.....too much coffeee again, sorry for being so long.

 

[cjacek]

Don't you need to get really, really good with that ukulele? I mean, know the thing inside and out, up and down before you "graduate" on to bigger and better things like a six string guitar? I mean, please correct me if I'm wrong here, the idea of "technology" IS relative. Is it not? I mean, unless you've totally "exhausted" every last ounce of creativity and inspiration you can get out of your ukulele, isn't it rather frivolous to go and make Tascam, Yamaha, Roland, and every other music tech. Co. rich? I mean, when is "enough, enough"?

I couldn't agree more with the above statement. Reminds me of a cheap kenwood cassette deck, mic and a cheapo mixer that I started out with. You couldn't get any more basic than that. But I squeezed out all that I could from that setup and created some of my best performances. Anyway, your words above really are the gospel. They ring so true and should be followed by just about anyone. Thank you for that.

~Daniel

 

[A Reel Person]

I love coffee!!

OKAY, NOW: MIDI: Forgive me, I'm a Midi-know-nothing!

Is the 2488's midi-section a midi sequencer only, or does it have the basic Midi-Tone-Generator built in also,... like the underpowered but cute Pockestudio-5 ????

Inquiring minds want to know!! Please enlighten us all!

Thanx!

 

[BMWerks]

not a sequencer

OKAY, NOW: MIDI: Forgive me, I'm a Midi-know-nothing!

Is the 2488's midi-section a midi sequencer only, or does it have the basic Midi-Tone-Generator built in also,... like the underpowered but cute Pockestudio-5 ????

Inquiring minds want to know!! Please enlighten us all!

Thanx!

No. My good man ReelDave. 2488 does not sequence it's oun internal voices. You need an outside keyboard or pad to midi the internal GM voices. all it really is, is a Genaral MIDI sound module that takes up what would be the "25th and 26th" track's channel strip.

http://www.tascam.com/Products/2488_video.html

Hope you can download this successfully., many links.

 

[BMWerks]

damn.....too much coffeee again

yes,thanks.. i've been there too.

your a bit ahead of me on the 2488...i was just test drivin' for 30days.
I think my 30 is up +/- a few days.

TRACKING: A++++
To date the 2488 is awesome at Tracking. (user friendly=awesome).
It accomplished one of my Upgrade goals>>> more tracks.
TECHNICALL/SPECS: A++++ 24tracks/24 bit....$1,000BUCKS..c'mon it's sweeet.


damn.....too much coffeee again, sorry for being so long.

Not at all! Well done Coolcat!

Since I'm coming from a place where there was no technology, the pros far out-weigh the cons for me on this machine. I've had it a year now and they've made it pretty easy for an old analog vet like me to get around on with a fraction of the hastle. I'm a cheap, lazy dude basically and can't be bothered with too many "processes" anymore.

They've made it easy to get a lot of tracks down with decent {true 24bit reverb} with more editing features than I'll ever use. Not being a real guitar player, My guitar work on the keyboard has prooven to fool a lot of real guitar players. The amp simulators are as good as any of the Yamaha's, Korg's or Roland's. Roland has the best in my opinion. My guitars are usually mixed in so any indiscreet digital abnormalities are well disguised.

As for the cons of the 2488, being able to read the screen better would be a +. The paint scratches off the side pannels too easily. you can't burn individual fx to tracks without importing ext. fx. The CD drawer opens when the CD is finished burnning. I would prefer to have some kind of bright blinking blue light on top of the machine that goes off letting you know the CD is finished. I want to open the drawer manually.

You can make a great sounding, loud master on this unit. No I don't think Tascam and the "mastering houses" are in bed with eachother.

Actually, I was sold on the price of the 2400 before I even heard it. Teac Corporation has been very good to me through-out the years. They've pretty much left me on my oun all those years to learn for myself. they've always made a decent product for a fair price. Same with the 2488.

There is a DVD tutoial on the 2488 for about $40 but I have plenty of time to learn the unit and it's capabilities as I need to with out it. After a year, I feel pretty comfortable with it.

Hope this helped a "bit" CoolCat. Thanks!

 

[BMWerks]

You couldn't get any more basic than that.

You couldn't get any more basic than that. But I squeezed out all that I could from that setup and created some of my best performances. Anyway, your words above really are the gospel. They ring so true and should be followed by just about anyone. Thank you for that.

~Daniel [/QUOTE]

Thanks for the cudos Daniel but I'm just trying to be practical. I'm a diciple of lord practicality. I'd be in the poorhouse without him.

You're right. I do hope every body that read my post understands it like you do.

You really gotta do your homework cus they're all after your money. You can't let them press you into buying something you're not ready for or don't really need. And still, you're going to end up buying something you didn't really want or can't use.

 

[A Reel Person]

Thanx again for the great feedback!

Love at'ya!....................

 

[CoolCat]

2488 continues...

I'm a cheap, lazy dude basically and can't be bothered with too many "processes" anymore.

You can make a great sounding, loud master on this unit. No I don't think Tascam and the "mastering houses" are in bed with eachother.

...cheap, and lazy??? hey i thought that was my line....fhk.

REEL...thnks again for the thread. I tried to give you a REP point but am clueless how, or i don't have authority.

BMWerks..appreciate the inputs, your negatives sounded very common.
1) small screen
2) paint wear (i wonder if a person can apply a coating or maybe some clear low adhesive tape this sounds like something i want to do to my brand new unit. warranty issue??)
3) Cd drawer comes out the front. (hmmm? better than the back!
but I agree the automatic thing is not needed, wonder if we can turn this off....maybe next soft rev.?).

MASTERING section is GOOD you say???
I definitiely need to learn more on this unit. COOL!!!! encouraging.

Can you compare a Alesis Masterlink "master effect/limiting" or a ART VLA(levelar) or any other type to the 2488's mini-mastering performance....does the 2488 come close? scale of 1-10best??? would i benefit form a Levelar or Masterlink??

I rely on many inputs as i don't have the comparison value$$ from my exp.
any "tips"?

I can tell you how to make some really crappy mixes, 100% guareenteed!

 

[BMWerks]

MASTERING section is GOOD you say???

...cheap, and lazy??? hey i thought that was my line....fhk.

REEL...thnks again for the thread. I tried to give you a REP point but am clueless how, or i don't have authority.

BMWerks..appreciate the inputs, your negatives sounded very common.

Can you compare a Alesis Masterlink "master effect/limiting" or a ART VLA(levelar) or any other type to the 2488's mini-mastering performance....does the 2488 come close? scale of 1-10best??? would i benefit form a Levelar or Masterlink??

Cool, Thanks for your resp. About 5 my guess.

The only piece of Alesis gear I've ever owned was a 3630. Did all my finish work with it. No complaints. The mastering tools you get with the 2488 are far superior not that that's saying much. I'm sure you know that, depending where you apply your gates, comp. and limiting determines space, depth and clarity. Yea, I could spend THOUSANDS on processing with Joe Meek and all the rest. But, with a little forward thinking, (premix/preproduction) on my budget? I get the job done just fine thank you. Being from the old school, I do most all the leveling by hand. I'm not that pressed for time anymore and product enjoys hands-on fine tuning like hand rubbed furniture.

Remember though, many of those mastering tools were invented for speed of product delivery demands my record companies needing to shave as much time off sessions as possible. I wouldn't put too much stock in them.

Can't seem to get that scratch/pop sound out of the end of the CD masters on the 2488 though. Keep popping up. Sometimes there, sometimes not. Won't even edit out. Dam. f(*%#@$!&st*&^astard! Hate this F#@^*+ thing.

 

[A Reel Person]

Okay!

REEL...thnks again for the thread. I tried to give you a REP point but am clueless how, or i don't have authority.

Hey, no worries! I don't play the rep game. I'm here for entirely other reasons, that predates rep points, considerably. If I love'ya, I'll just tell'ya. Anyway,... it's you guys' thread now!!

I can tell you how to make some really crappy mixes, 100% guareenteed!

Aaaww, c'mon! You know I'd never believe that! You're a big time MD8 veteran, and that proves a lot, right there.

Aye!

 

[CoolCat]

...cheap, and lazy??? hey i thought that was my line....fhk.

REEL...thnks again for the thread. I tried to give you a REP point but am clueless how, or i don't have authority.

BMWerks..appreciate the inputs, your negatives sounded very common.

Can you compare a Alesis Masterlink "master effect/limiting" or a ART VLA(levelar) or any other type to the 2488's mini-mastering performance....does the 2488 come close? scale of 1-10best??? would i benefit form a Levelar or Masterlink??

Cool, Thanks for your resp. About 5 my guess.

The only piece of Alesis gear I've ever owned was a 3630. Did all my finish work with it. No complaints. The mastering tools you get with the 2488 are far superior not that that's saying much. I'm sure you know that, depending where you apply your gates, comp. and limiting determines space, depth and clarity. Yea, I could spend THOUSANDS on processing with Joe Meek and all the rest. But, with a little forward thinking, (premix/preproduction) on my budget? I get the job done just fine thank you. Being from the old school, I do most all the leveling by hand. I'm not that pressed for time anymore and product enjoys hands-on fine tuning like hand rubbed furniture.

Remember though, many of those mastering tools were invented for speed of product delivery demands my record companies needing to shave as much time off sessions as possible. I wouldn't put too much stock in them.

Can't seem to get that scratch/pop sound out of the end of the CD masters on the 2488 though. Keep popping up. Sometimes there, sometimes not. Won't even edit out. Dam. f(*%#@$!&st*&^astard! Hate this F#@^*+ thing.

Do you have the most recent rev., my understanding is thats the fix for the
CD-RW "click" I forget which rev#? 1.01 64 r some sht. You'll see the rev # just as it powers up shows your Software REv..
That sounds right if you'd had yours a year or so.
My understanding is you just load in the CD/ NEW REV and it does all the upgrading. I hadn't seen any posts on clicking at TSACAM for many,many months.

I was listening for that "click' and never had it occur, it was a BIG concern.
REEL brought that "clicking up" right away...early post.
thats why i came to this post...was for the NEGATIVES and WATCH-OUTS!!


another suspect:
The preamp LED's have been caught "blipping" on for a micro second or two...
fast little buggers..only "click" i've heard...(yes, i was ready to take it back)
too bad the led's aren't a latch and hold type. it is hard to see when the little led blinks for a micro second...but the digital/click is there.
another good reason for a Outboard unit (can over drive it!!)

 

[A Reel Person]

!!!

Do you have the most recent rev., my understanding is thats the fix for the CD-RW "click".

Thanx for the valuable tip!

I was listening for that "click' and never had it occur,...

I'm certainly very glad to hear that! It was the FIRST thing I heard!

... it was a BIG concern,...

For me too! A HUGE concern!!

... thats why i came to this post...was for the NEGATIVES and WATCH-OUTS!!

And that's why I wrote it!


Thanx again for your concise tips, testing and insights!! It's made this post a great learning experience and validation for me, IMO/YMMV!!

2488'n' Love on'ya'll!!

/DA

 

[BMWerks]

Thanks Cool,.....If you come across the review again maybe you can send me the link................. load in the CD/ NEW REV and it does all the upgrading.?

You're saying that the glitch sound can be fixed by CD software install upgrade to the unit it's self? It's NOT a problem with the hard drive? I don't think I'm getting it.

Yea, you gotta watch the gains. Very sensitive little buggers especially when micing through the XLRs. But, that could be a good thing unless "overload" isn't the reason they're lighting. Do they still blink when you back off the gains? The unit does give you LOTS of headroom. Read the signal to noise ratio specs. Pretty impressive.



Anyway, I'm more than grateful for your good input!

 

[CoolCat]

clicks

TASCAM 2488 forum.... I think it's free upgardes.

Mine came with that version.

version 1.01

heres the threadname...
Noise At End Of Cd?, Disc At Once CD Burning


"end of CD-R..etc...clicking,noise<
firmware fixed it>


No, problemos' I have had Zero problems with my unit. The clip indicator works.

 

[BMWerks]

TASCAM 2488 forum.... I think it's free upgardes.

Mine came with that version.

version 1.01

heres the threadname...
Noise At End Of Cd?, Disc At Once CD Burning


"end of CD-R..etc...clicking,noise<
firmware fixed it>


No, problemos' I have had Zero problems with my unit. The clip indicator works.

Thanks Cool, Love you man!

 

[BMWerks]

It ain't really broke but.....

No, problemos' I have had Zero problems with my unit. The clip indicator works.[/QUOTE]

Thanks a million COOL!

Did what you said, even became an offical member to the forum. Followed all instructions to a T. Keep getting Error messages; "NOT DETECT DIGITAL INPUT PLEASE CHECK YOUR SYSTEM" Tried 3 different types of CDRs, rebooted and read the start screen and it still has v1.00 6400Tas. or whatever.

Maybe there's a CD out there that is factory setup that'l work. I even downloaded another freeware DVD-CD burner called "Deepburner" from the net that someone else said worked for them. Still, v1.00 6400TAS

Stay tuned for news at 11.

Thanks man.

 

[CoolCat]

maybe this will help??

CUT and PASTE from thread:
"Noise At End Of Cd?
Disc At Once CD Burning "

excerpt:::
Did you re-check the instructions:

http://www.vaporpark.com/invboard/index.ph...t=ST&f=3&t=1692

You have to hold down Monitor Select + Shutdown while you power on the 2488 to enter the update mode. Otherwise, it sound like you have a bad disc, or maybe the system already has the latest firmware version.

The current firmware says v1.01 Build 0064 when you power on the machine.

-Kent

PART2::::::::
I followed the instructions to the letter exactly when I did my update, and the screen and the machine froze and never did get to the part where it says it's finished and I should reboot (or whatever it is supposed to say).........so I had to power off and hard reboot. It came back up ok, the screen said "v1.01 Build 0064" when it came up, and it has worked fine ever since. SC


good luck. hopefully something minor in uploading firmware.

 

[BMWerks]

Yep. Did all that.

Yep. Did all that. I'm waiting to hear from Walt Disney. There is an employee of his that designed the 2488, said he'd fix it for me! Thankz Cool.

 

[CoolCat]

2488 repair ticket

Yep. Did all that. I'm waiting to hear from Walt Disney. There is an employee of his that designed the 2488, said he'd fix it for me! Thankz Cool.

Walt Disney???

look forward to a post on the fix.

glad for ya!

I have a used Joe Meek Unit plugged into my 2488.

Hard to describe sounds....
Unit sounds great when playing music, but I had a strange noise occur when the mic sat Idle waiting for incoming signal.

When I stopped playing, I noticed the unit seemed to automatically start
increasing the volume?
So the mic was hearing the normal- bedroom studio ssshhhhh noise,
but the volume started to increase, louder and louder and louder...

sounded like a train comin' at me, ok maybe thats a bit much...
but anyway the "idle ssssshhhh sound...turned into a LOUD SSSSSSSHHHH
sound..so i quickly dropped the fader down.
It repeated everytime the mic was on and idle.

Is this common? or a Joe Meek design-in or bad unit??

My 3630 never did this, and my RNC never did this.

 

[cjacek]

I'm waiting to hear from Walt Disney. There is an employee of his that designed the 2488

Puts new meaning to the term "Mickey Mouse Gear" doesn't it ??

~Daniel